Police detectives are trained in many areas, but accounting typically isn’t one of them.

When State Police Lt. Jerry Carter needed help with an embezzlement case, he went to Central Michigan University forensic accounting professor Tom Weirich.

While investigating an embezzlement case at the Shepherd VFW, Carter, a former detective sergeant at the Mt. Pleasant post who recently was promoted to assistant post commander in Bay City, looked to Weirich and his top students for answers.

Davis was sentenced in March to 15 months to five years in prison after entering a plea in the case.

That plea likely would not have happened without the solid accounting work done by Weirich’s students, Carter said.

Embezzlements are difficult to prove without forensic accountants to go over the books and find evidence, Carter said.

Forensic accounting is the application of that profession in a legal setting, Weirich said.

His students were able to nail down solid evidence against Davis, which led to his plea, Carter said.

On Friday, Weirich and the students who helped solve the case were at the state police post in Mt. Pleasant, getting thanks from Carter for their work.

Carter submitted their names to state police headquarters in Lansing with the hope that the group will receive civilian awards.

Weirich, who teaches forensic accounting and fraud investigation, said the five students probably put in about 350 hours into the case.

They also helped Carter get an arrest in a similar case in Clare County involving a member of Harrison VFW in Clare County.

That case is still pending, and Carter said the students were instrumental in both.

Carter said the five helped not only him but the community, which can become “fractured” in such cases with people taking sides.

“It helps the community heal,” Carter said, adding that forensic accountants can be extremely helpful in trials because they can give opinion testimony as expert witnesses that would otherwise be considered “hearsay.”

Carter said the case in Isabella County probably “wasn’t going anywhere” until Weirich offered to help.

(Susan Field can be reached at sfield@michigannewspapers.com or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/susan.k.field).